The Autumn Shindig Harvest Festival is a reliable harbinger of the fall season. For the last nine years, this fun, family-focused festival has become an increasingly popular annual event to benefit the North Columbia Schoolhouse Cultural Center on the San Juan Ridge.

The festival is a daytime affair beginning at 11:30 a.m. and going until dusk. It features live music, local crafts, games for kids and adults alike, and various contests. Volunteers will be serving gourmet stew with locally sourced ingredients donated by Mountain Bounty Farm and BriarPatch Co-op as well as cold drinks, cotton candy and pies at the “sugar shack” throughout the day.

Admission for the festival is free. Attendees can purchase wooden tokens to spend on the food and game booths. Local craftspeople and farmers, including MonaMe Pottery, Dale Mansfield, Lord Von Schmitt, Pam’s Purses and 4 Winds Pottery Studio, will have booths with goods on sale throughout the day.

Local musicians generously sponsor the event by playing pro bono. The Ruckrich Family Band will be joined by Moss Quaglia and Gary Logan. The Belfry Brothers will close out the night.

Anyone entering the pie-making and jack-o-lantern competitions must enter early at 12:00 p.m. for judging. The winners will receive a gift basket with donations from local businesses. A beard and mustache (real and fake) competition, sack races, and other lawn games will be held throughout the day.

Sweetland Garden Supply, Mother Truckers, Jernigan’s Tap House, Extasia and BriarPatch Co-op are all providing assistance as Gold Sponsors for the Autumn Shindig this year. Many other local businesses provide additional sponsorship to help this vital part of the San Juan Ridge continue to thrive.